MOVIE REVIEW – Despite a few predictable twists and turns, The Twin is a pretty effective horror. What can be highlighted is the excellent, immersive atmosphere as it sets the stage for Palmer’s outstanding performance.

The creators of The Twin were certainly targeting fans of horror classics such as The Omen or recent favourites like The Orphan and White Nights. The Twin is the story of a mother and couple who must face the terrible truth about the death of one of their sons after they move to an isolated rural town in Finland.

A tragedy survived only by one of the twins

Teresa Palmer plays Rachel, a mother grieving the loss of one of her twin brothers, Nathan (Tristan Ruggeri). Rachel struggles to carry on as the mother of her surviving son Elliot (also Ruggeri) while maintaining her marriage and overcoming the cultural obstacles of moving to Finland. The home to which her husband Anthony (Steven Cree) moves her family only exacerbates Rachel’s grief. While haunted by the memory of her deceased son, her life soon takes a radically strange turn.

Gemini explores classic themes such as the dynamics between wife and husband. Rachel falls into the category of mothers who are often dismissed for their hysteria and called delusional when the truth is seen for what it is. Anthony is the “why can’t I be married to a sane woman” type of husband. However, screenwriters Taneli Mustonen (who also directed the film) and Aleksi Hyvärinen try to put a big twist on what is, on the whole, a pretty clichéd story. It takes a while, but clues to the truth behind Nathan’s death and Rachel’s mental decline finally emerge, although these ideas struggle to unfold in the third act.

Palmer carries the film on his back, while Cree is boring

Palmer proves once again that he is a true horror star. With his facial expressions, he can convey a whole range of emotions as Rachel’s mental state deteriorates. Grief, sadness, horror and pain are expressed beautifully on her features. She has a range that the film industry has not recognised or appreciated. Cree, on the other hand, is unnervingly calm and collected as the seemingly unaffected husband.

The captivating atmosphere sets the stage for Palmer’s outstanding lead performance. Despite some predictable twists and turns, The Twin is an effective horror. Some of the jump scares are easily predictable but nonetheless effective. The colour palette is sombre, evoking the grey, autumnal, bleak, cold weather. The season has never looked so bad (but in a good way). In many ways, the film owes its ability to be relatively effective to its emotional effects. Creepy visual elements, a sense of dread, and the weight of grief permeate every frame.

The third act almost spoils everything

Unfortunately, like so many other horror films, The Twin falls victim to horror’s greatest enemy – terrible pacing and an uneven third act. The film starts off at a brisk pace, introducing the viewer to the plight of Rachel, a grieving mother, while her remaining son displays less-than-angelic qualities. The creepy kid is a typical horror flick.

However, when the film starts to add layers to the primary narrative that all may not be well around one of the twins, the poorly constructed storytelling, unfortunately, does not help to balance events. The nearly hour-and-a-half run feels overly drawn out and overcrowded as it rushes towards its conclusion.

In some ways, the third act almost derails the whole thing, as the script and direction lack the confidence to conclude the story in this way. The meeting of the story of a grieving mother and the appearance of a strange cult in the Finnish countryside is unfortunately not as seamless and believable as the filmmakers would have liked to make it. Unfortunately, the film’s final section can only prove that the two do not work together. Despite all of this, however, The Twin is an enjoyable and, for us, exotic Finnish setting, a relatively good horror worth watching.

-BadSector-